Is data replication possible without sharding in a system?

Yes, data replication is possible without using sharding. Replication is the process of copying and maintaining up-to-date copies of data on multiple servers or nodes to increase fault tolerance and availability. Sharding, on the other hand, is the division of data into parts (shards) to distribute load and enable scaling.

Thus, replication and sharding address different tasks and can be used independently. For example, you can have a single database with a full copy (replica) for backup purposes without dividing data into shards.